


The Disappearance of Charles Xavier

by Gerec



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Confinement, Kidnapping, M/M, Mind Games, Psychological Trauma, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 07:58:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9312542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gerec/pseuds/Gerec
Summary: Harvard Professor Charles Xavier vanishes one day, enroute from work to the suburban home he shares with his partner of four years, Erik Lehnsherr. The police are baffled by Xavier's sudden disappearance - there's no note, no ransom, no foul play - and their lack of progress on the case frustrates an increasingly distraught Erik (not to mention Charles' sister Raven). Where did Mr. Xavier go? Was he taken? Why? And by whom?It turns out that the answers to all those questions are a lot closer than anyone could have ever expected.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lachatblanche](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lachatblanche/gifts).



> A birthday ficlet written for my favorite interweb spouse Lachatblanche! I am still undecided whether I will write more of this as fanfic, or concentrate on the balance of this as original fiction...

_“—a five thousand dollar reward for any information on the whereabouts of Charles Francis Xavier, Professor of Genetics at Harvard University, who has been missing since June fifteenth. Chief of Police Moira MacTaggert has declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, though sources report that there have been no new leads—“_

 

*

 

Charles Xavier disappears on a Thursday afternoon, sometime after leaving the university to return to his three storey home in a quiet Boston suburb, at the end of a picturesque cul-de-sac. They find his blue Volvo parked in the driveway of his house – where he lives with his partner of four years, Erik Lehnsherr – but no sign of Mr. Xavier; he left no note and no voice mail message, and none of his belongings are missing save for the clothes he wore that day and the items he carried in his laptop bag.

The police comb the house and surrounding neighborhood, along with Mr. Xavier’s office and find no evidence of foul play.

_“There are no signs of forced entry into your home or into Mr. Xavier’s car. Are you sure he’s actually missing? Is there any chance that Mr. Xavier’s just taken a short trip and neglected to tell you?”_

_“Listen to me, alright? Something has definitely happened to Charles! He wouldn’t go anywhere or just disappear without telling me and Raven!_ No one _has seen or heard from him since he left his office yesterday at two o’clock! Stop stalling and get your useless asses out there and_ find _him!”_

Mr. Lehnsherr rages at the incompetence of the local authorities, who then question whether Mr. Xavier could have left of his own volition, perhaps as a means to escape an abusive relationship? It’s an accusation that Mr. Lehnsherr vehemently denies, his claim of innocence supported wholeheartedly by Mr. Xavier’s adopted sister and sole family member, Ms. Raven Darkholme. Her testimony, in addition to Mr. Lehnsherr’s alibi during the time of Mr. Xavier’s disappearance (multiple witnesses attest to his presence at the engineering firm of Frost & Associates from the time of Mr. Xavier’s departure from the NRB to Ms. Darkholme’s inbound call at 8:30 that night), allows the police to remove Mr. Lehnsherr almost immediately off the list of ‘interested’ parties.

_“Erik, do you know what’s going on with Charles? He didn’t show up at the restaurant and he hasn’t called.”_

_“Did you try him at the office? You know he forgets to charge his cell sometimes, loses track of time.”_

_“Of course I called! They said he left hours ago! And I’ve left like, ten messages on his cell! He’s not picking up the home line either. I’m going to kill him if he fell asleep again on the couch.”_

_“I’m sure that’s all it is…I’m heading home in an hour, Raven; I’ll have him call you so he can grovel for standing you up.”_

The investigation expands quickly and extensively to the rest of the neighborhood where Mr. Xavier and Mr. Lehnsherr reside, though no one remembers seeing Mr. Xavier’s return by car, nor do they recall any suspicious activity in and around the man’s home. Their closest neighbor – Mr. Set Khalid, a personal friend of Mr. Xavier and Mr. Lehnsherr – had been traveling out of town on business at the time, only returning to Boston when he heard of Mr. Xavier’s disappearance. He welcomes the officers into his home and upon reflection, offers the only viable lead to an investigation that had all but stalled from lack of information.

_“Mr. Creed, you and your crew have been doing work in Mr. Khalid’s home, yes?”_

_“Yeah, we put in a skylight over the master bedroom. Re-did his ensuite bathroom with a whirlpool tub. Switched out his old hot water tank for a new one.”_

_“Did you or any of your crew access Mr. Khalid’s home on the afternoon of June 15? Did any of you see anything that might lead us to the whereabouts of the missing Charles Xavier?”_

_“Look I told you – we were finished on Wednesday. The fourteenth. Nobody – not me, not any of my guys were anywhere close to that neighborhood. We didn’t see nothing.”_

_“Is there anyone other than yourself who had a key to Mr. Khalid’s house? Someone who could have taken the opportunity to rob the place while he was away? Perhaps someone Mr. Xavier unknowingly interrupted when he came home…”_

The lead brings the police no closer to solving the mystery of Xavier’s disappearance; after extensive interviews, the firm’s employees are ruled out one by one as having any possible involvement with the case. Mr. Lehnsherr is increasingly at odds with the pace and lack of progress in the investigation, and has stormed more than once into Captain MacTaggert’s office unannounced, equal parts angry and fearful, demanding answers the department can’t provide. At Mr. Khalid’s suggestion, Ms. Darkholme and Mr. Lehnsherr decide to offer a monetary reward for any information on Mr. Xavier’s whereabouts, and it is agreed that Ms. Darkholme should be the one to make a plea on camera for the safe return of her brother Charles.

_“Please, we just want to know he’s alright. If you have any information about my brother, anything at all, please contact us. We just…we just want him to come home.”_

_\---_

No one (credible) comes forward in the days and weeks that follow.

They find no witnesses and no further clues, and neither Mr. Lehnsherr nor Ms. Darkholme ever receive a note for ransom.

It’s as though Charles Xavier simply walked out of his office one day, and vanished into thin air.

 

*

  
He is loath to leave Erik on his own like this, radiating hopeless, helpless rage as the days and hours tick by with no news about Charles.  There is nothing more he can do for his friend than to let him vent his anger; let him seethe with indignation at the sheer incompetence of the Boston police. The meals that he makes for Erik go largely untouched, and he has to remind him to eat and rest when he can, to keep up his strength for the search. He does not blame Erik for ignoring him, or raising his voice; after all, if he were in the man’s shoes he too would be feeling incomparable loss and sorrow.

Erik doesn’t notice when he leaves, which is just as well really – there is nothing more they can do tonight except wait for the calls to start coming in. He wonders idly how many bogus leads the police will have to comb through over the next few days; five thousand dollars is more than enough incentive to draw out the liars and the cheats.

He hops down the steps of the Xavier-Lehnsherr home and crosses the double car driveway, frowning at the trampled edges of the bush that borders the edge of his front garden. He’ll have to call the service to come and take a look at it, he thinks; best to call first thing in the morning…

He really hates having things out of place.

A few more leisurely steps and he’s through his front door, humming a soft jazz tune he heard earlier on the car radio. He locks the door and keys in the code to the alarm and then heads into the living room to pour himself a drink from the bar; a whiskey tonight, to help settle his stomach from Raven’s ghastly fast food offering.

Once he’s finished - one shot, then another for luck – he toes off his shoes and slips off his suit jacket, discarding them on the fine leather couch. He takes the steps down to the wine cellar and flips on the overhead light, taking a quick peek at the thermostat to check the temperature. Pleased with the read out he turns his attention to the back wall, taking a moment to admire the fine collection he’s amassed from all over the world, before swinging the panel open to reveal the reinforced steel door. Another code, and the second door swings open, and he smiles at the man waiting for him on the other side.

“Charles,” he says, “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day.”


End file.
